State Considering Taking NIS Back from Russians and Returning It When Sanctions Are Lifted

The president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said last night that the state, if it needed to, would take back Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) from Gazprom, as the majority owner, while the sanctions were in effect and return it when they were lifted.

– Certain mediators and traders of the Iraqi Kirkuk oil do not want to do business with majority Russian owners. We have been managing to solve that problem so far and we will try to keep doing so. We will make a deal with the Russians, if needed, to take over NIS while the sanctions are in effect and return it when they are lifted – Vucic said on TV Pink.

He pointed out that that kind of an agreement would only be made if necessary and that the state didn’t want to “take away things”.

He said that the ban on the export of diesel and petrol fuel would be extended that day for another seven days, because, due to the limited price, it was not cost-effective for other importers of that fuel to import it, so the local market needed to be supplied with that fuel.

– When the price is controlled, nobody wants to import and lose money and everybody is waiting to get that fuel at the NIS refinery – Vucic said.

Another potential problem, according to him, is that it is not certain that the refinery will be able to obtain spare parts, because it is under sanctions.

Predsedništvo Republike Srbije

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

president of Serbia

Naftna industrija Srbije

NIS

Aleksandar Vučić

taking over

ownership

fuel

export

ban

refineries

parts

procurement

goods reserves